Love's Keen Sting
by TohruROX2221
Summary: “Oh, to be young and feel love's keen sting.” Cedric/OC. Rated T for language.
1. Introduction

**This is a Cedric/OC story, but this is just the beginning when the OC's parents met. Don't worry, it gets good, as long as R&R. :]**

* * *

It was year five of Hogwarts and Katie Alice was still getting lost. She barely slipped into her Transfiguration class, hoping McGonagall wouldn't notice, but then she heard the familiar WOOSH! sound as the tabby cat jumped off the desk and transformed into Minerva McGonagall.

"Miss Alice, I was hoping you'd be on time the first day of lessons," she said bitterly.

"Sorry," Katie said apologetically, smiling a guilty smile.

"Miss Alice, please, have a seat next to Mr. Lewis here," McGonagall said, pointing to a fellow Hufflepuff Katie barely knew. She sat down on the bench.

"I'm Braiden," he said.

"Don't care," she snapped, and he laughed.

"Miss Alice, huh? You're Katie Alice, right?"

"So what if I am," she snapped. Braiden laughed again.

"Miss Alice, Mr. Lewis, if you find your conversation so interesting you may step outside," McGonagall said.

"Sorry, Professor," Katie muttered, and returned to the board.

"You play Quidditch?" he asked.

"I thought about it," she whispered.

"You should try out, I'm captain of the team," he said proudly.

She paused. "Fascinating."

"Ya know, one day you're gonna marry me," Braiden said, winking.

"Really? The day I marry you is the day Dumbledore _flies._"

* * *

"I've told you a million times, Mum. Her name's Maddie. Not Madeline, not Madison, not Madden, Maddie. I know it's uncommon but I think it's cute."

Katie Alice, now legally Mrs. Braiden Lewis, was in the hospital just three hours after giving birth to a healthy baby girl she and her husband had named 'Maddie Steffani'. Her mother, being judgmental as usual, did not approve. Katie was a witch, born into a Muggle family; her husband was a pure-blood wizard. Joan, Katie's mother, did not approve of any decisions Katie made, and it proved to be true with her reaction to her granddaughter's name.

"Good God, you've named my granddaughter after a cult!" shrieked Katie's mother.

"Mum, honestly," Katie said, sighing. "It's our choice what she's named and she's named Maddie Steffani Lewis. Her middle name is pronounced Stephanie," she added when her mother looked at the birth certificate in shock. "And it's our choice, Bray's and mine. Neither of us have very common names for our time, either, Mum."

"Katie, sweetheart, when that madman came and told us you were a witch, I let it go," she said, "and when you told me you had a boyfriend that was a wizard I accepted that. _And _when you were married and pregnant at nineteen I was thrilled, overjoyed even. But why name your daughter the most uncommon, despicable name you possibly could?"

Katie burned with rage. It was _her_ daughter and she named her Maddie Steffani Lewis, which she thought was the most beautiful name in the books. "So I suppose you hate the name Maddie and you hate the name Stephanie being spelled the way it is," she said. "I suppose you wish her name was Maddie Katie Braiden Lewis like Talia. I suppose you want to take care of her instead of me." Talia was Katie's cousin. She had two middle names, being her mother and father's first names, respectively.

However, Joan took no notice of what Katie had said—or, rather, she acted as if she took no notice. Instead, she clutched her heart as the baby opened her eyes, revealing almond shaped green eyes. "Good God, Katie! This child…this baby…she is a mutant! She has green eyes! And they're shaped like _almonds!_"

"So what if her eyes are rare," Katie said uninterestedly. "They're beautiful."

"She looks like Braiden," Joan said sighing, "other than the eyes. I don't know where she got the eyes."

"Mum, will you _please_ stop obsessing over eyes," Katie said. "And so what if she looks like Braiden? What's wrong with looking like her father?"

"Well, she just looks a little…_masculine,_" Joan said as though it were a curse.

"She's barely three hours old, Mum!" Katie said, clearly angry. "And I'd appreciate it if we'd settle the matter here. She's only three hours old, Mum, and she's my daughter. Who really cares if she has eyes shaped like toast, for example? I'm not saying that's possible…" Katie added, seeing her mother's worried look, "…but she'd still be your granddaughter, and you'd be the only person who cares. Or what if her eyes were lavender? Would you really care? Or what if she looked like a house-elf? S_till_ nobody would care, would they?" In her rambling, it hadn't occurred to Katie that her Mum didn't have the slightest clue what a 'house-elf' was, being a Muggle. Katie was a witch that had just finished Wizarding School two years prior and both of her parents had been Muggles, or someone with no magical ability. Her husband was Braiden Lewis, a pureblood wizard, making their daughter what was called a 'half-blood'.

Joan blinked. "Katie Alice, you are—"

"Mum, I'm _married. _My name is now Katie _Lewis._"

"You will always be Katie Pamela Alice to me. That is your birthname and I refuse to call you anything else. Now, Katie Alice, you are really thick. I have half a mind to leave you and your daughter and your husband and just leave you indefinitely. You…I don't even know you anymore."

"Because I wanted to name my daughter Maddie Steffani? Well pardon me for wanting something different! If you must know Maddie means 'young, unmarried woman' or 'maiden', and Steffani is 'crown, garland'. To me that means royalty. I expect great things from her and if you can't accept that because I wanted to be original in the naming process then fine. I'm no longer a part of your family than. Oh, and you're one to talk. When _I_ was born, was Katie a common name? No, it was not!"

Joan was shocked into silence and left. Braiden made his entrance once again. "Hi, sweetheart," he said to his wife, kissing her. "I take it things did not go well with your mother?"

"Of course not," Katie said. "She hates Maddie's name. She hates the name Maddie Steffani. She hates her eyes. She hates that she looks like you. And, most importantly, she hates _me._ I still remember the day the gamekeeper came to tell us I was a witch. My mother grimaced because I was 'abnormal'. Because I was _different._ And when I became Prefect, she didn't care. Really. Even though I was Muggle-born—and I told her this—she didn't care. She also didn't care when we were both Head Boy and Girl." She stopped, sighing. "I expect big things from her, Bray."

"I'm sorry," he said, talking about Joan Alice. "But she's our child, she realizes that, right?"

"She wants everything picture perfect," said Katie sighing. "Bray, you don't think naming her Maddie Steffani was a mistake, do you?"

"No," Braiden said, shocked. "Not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Well my mother certainly seems to think so," she said with a second sigh. "Perhaps _I_ made a mistake when I shut her out of our lives," she said sadly.

"Nonsense, Kates," Braiden said. "If she can't accept her granddaughter the way she is she has no right to be an authority figure to her or be in her life. Goodness, it's almost like the Nargles got her, isn't it?" At first Katie thought Braiden was talking about their daughter, but then she realized he was still going on about Joan.

"You're not still going on about the existence of Nargles, are you?"

"I'm not the only one who believes, Katie, even Xenophilius Lovegood agrees they're real."

"Well Xenophilius Lovegood is a little bit…batty, Bray." She paused. "I bet she's going to be a great young witch someday," she added.

"Of course," said Braiden. "Because she's related to _me._"

She punched Braiden in the arm.

* * *

**Was that chapter okay? I hope it was. Hopefully I didn't bore you to death. Lol. Please review, k thanks. :]**


	2. Chapter 1 Just Friends

**Sorry for leaving you hanging. (: Here ya go.**

* * *

Cedric Diggory, age eight, was your example of a 'perfect child'—never got into trouble, always did what he was told, and was very well behaved. Today, however, was an exception.

Tired of his parents arguing, Cedric went outside the house—without permission—and down by a lake, just staring out at it. He hated it when his parents argued in front of him. It got old very quickly, and half of the time, their arguments didn't mean anything. There usually was no real reason for arguing about _anything._ Today, however, was different.

He wasn't sure how it got started, but soon, his parents were yelling at each other. When Dad slapped Mum across the face, he had had enough, and simply up and left. He wasn't going to sit around and watch them kill each other.

Suddenly he was quite aware of someone behind him. He supposed it was one of his parents, but, instead, it was a little girl, no older than five. He had seen her once—her parents lived next door, and her father worked with his—but his mind was a blank. He couldn't place a name to her face. She was smiling, wearing a butterfly T-shirt. Her short blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was barefoot. She was also very dirty.

"Hi," she said timidly.

"Hello," he said back, not sure what she wanted.

"Can I sit here?" she asked, pointing to the empty space next to him. Cedric moved over to make room for her. He had no idea who she was, but she seemed to want to talk to him very badly, from the way she acted.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, "I don't mean to sound rude, but...who are you?"

"Maddie Stefani Lewis," she recited. "And I know who _you_ are."

"Do you?" he asked, already forgetting the girl's name. Suddenly, it came back to him: _Maddie._ Unusual.

"Daddy works with your daddy, doesn't he?" she said. He noticed she had a slight lisp on words that had a 'd'.

"Yes," he said. "So...Maddie. Is that short for something?"

"No," she said, "just Maddie. Grandma pretty much has a fit every time she sees me. Says my name should be Madeline, or Madison." She had said 'grandma', 'should', 'Madeline', and 'Madison', but they all came out sounding like 'gramma', 'shoul', 'Madseline', and 'Masison'. Cedric could barely understand her. The only word with a 'd' in it she had pronounced correctly was her own name.

"Oh," he said, trying to understand what she had just said.

"You're Cedr..." He could tell she was having great difficulty saying it.

"Yes, I'm Cedric," he interrupted. "You don't have to call me that, though," he added, knowing she'd have a hard time every time she tried to say his name.

"Ceddie," she announced after a moment of thought.

"What?"

"Well, I can pronounce _that,_" she said. "Why are you out here all alone?"

He sighed. "It's a long story," he said. "Most of it would go over your head."

"I'm smart for my age," she reasoned.

He laughed. "I'm sure you are," he said, "but _I_ don't really understand much of it myself." Suddenly, he straightened. "Do your parents know where you are?"

"Nope!" she announced proudly. "For all they know, I could be dead," she finished happily.

_Oh, _great, Cedric thought. "Well you don't want them to think that, do you?"

"No," she said, still in her cheery voice. Cedric stood.

"Come on," he said. She stood up as well. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand. "What are you—?" he started, but she cut him off.

"Mummy always says that I should hold her hand when we're walking somewhere. I think it works here, too, doesn't it?"

Cedric was shocked. This little girl speech was like his _mother's,_ other than when she lisped occasionally. "How old did you say you were?" he asked.

"I didn't," she said, "but I just turned four last month."

Cedric was even more shocked than he originally was. He couldn't remember talking the way she did when he was four. "Well, for a four-year-old, you have an excellent vocabulary," he said.

"Grandma always says children should be seen and not heard," she said, starting to lose some of cheerful disposition.

"Well, that's rubbish," he said. "How else are we..."

"Exactly," she finished, almost as if she read his mind. For a moment, he was worried she _was_ reading his mind, but immediately thought how silly that seemed. He suddenly became aware of his parents with Maddie's mum. She was in tears, and his parents looked worried as well. It suddenly dawned on him that they realized their children were missing, as neither had told their parents where they would be or when they would be back. "Oh, crap," Cedric muttered.

Right at that moment, his father looked up and yelled at the top of his lungs, "CEDRIC AMOS DIGGORY! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"Uh...nowhere," Cedric lied. He could tell he was going to get the riot act.

"Don't_ ever_ do that again," he could hear Maddie's mum saying, holding her daughter in her arms. "Understand me?"

"Yes, Mummy," Maddie recited as if she had been doing this her whole life.

"And tell Mummy where you're going and make sure you have an adult with—_ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!_"

"Yes, Mummy," she said, but it didn't sound like she was. Cedric couldn't help but smile.

It was now his father's turn to yell. "_DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK!_" Cedric was snapped back to reality. His father was now talking with Maddie's mum. "I'm so sorry to have bothered you, Katie, really..."

"It's no problem," the woman called Katie said. "I understand. I'm terribly sorry to have bothered you. Come on, sweetie...."

That was possibly the day that Maddie Lewis fell in love with Cedric Diggory.

* * *

**That was a truly crappy ending. I got bored with this chapter after a while. Okay, I need a suggestion. Next chapter should I skip ahead to when they officially become an 'item', or should I do the Quidditch World Cup? Either way I'm going to do both, if I do the Cup first I'd just put it in as a flashback, but flashbacks bore me haha. (:**

**Please review. If you don't feel like reviewing tell me what your favorite store in the mall is.**


	3. Chapter 2 You Do Fancy Her!

**Here ya go.(: This take place during PoA.**

* * *

The first Quidditch match of the season was approaching quickly. The match was to be Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and the Hufflepuff Seeker and Captain, Cedric Diggory, was a little nervous. Gryffindor was the house to beat. They had Harry Potter, the 'boy who lived' on their team, and he was incredible. He was also the youngest Quidditch player in a century, so he had to be good. Besides, Gryffindor house had the amazing Oliver Wood as Keeper, who was already being recruited for Quidditch outside of school.

The entire time this was going on and Cedric was practicing for the match with the rest of the team, he started feeling differently towards someone very close to him: Maddie. She was no longer the little girl that had been bursting with energy, struggling to say his name, and never ceased talking. She was the exact opposite now. At age twelve, she had learned to confine her energy, had no difficulty with pronunciation, and was quiet. Now Cedric felt that he had feelings toward her. He no longer saw her as a friend, but something more.

Yes, the four year age gap was something of a hassle, but it didn't bother him. According to something his father told him once, "Love has no age, no limits, no boundaries." True, he probably wasn't in love with her. However, the saying fit. At the same time, he didn't want to ruin a perfectly good friendship, but he found it hard to contain his feelings whenever Maddie was around.

It was during double Potions, a class he loathed enough already, the day of the Quidditch match when he saw the note. It was pressed into his Potions book on page 394, the exact page Snape had said to turn to. He recognized the handwriting at once.

_"Good luck this afternoon. Let's show those Gryffindors. Maddie."_

He stared at the note curiously. He noticed that she dotted the I's with hearts. _It probably doesn't mean anything, _he thought, but later on in the class period, he realized that she _never_dotted her I's with hearts before.

The class period was difficult to get through, especially since the double period was with the Gryffindors. Cedric found his mind jumping from topic to topic: Potions to Maddie to Quidditch then back to Maddie again then to Gryffindors then back to Maddie a final time and back to what he should have been focusing on, taking notes on the effects of Felix Felicis. It wasn't until Snape was standing over him that he realized that he had been lost in his thoughts again.

"Mr. Diggory, your notes, please," Snape said, holding out a hand for Cedric's parchment. Unintentionally, he handed Snape Maddie's note. Snape raised an eyebrow as he read. "Not your love notes, Diggory, your notes of Felix Felicis." He sneered. "And you call yourself a Prefect."

_Crap. _He hesitantly handed Snape the correct notes. Snape read over them and shook his head. "Five points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Diggory," he announced.

"What?!" Cedric said in shock. "What'd I do?"

"First off, the key ingredient in Felix Felicis is not 'love', second, I do not believe Miss Lewis or Quidditch has _anything_to do with Potions, and third, the effect of Felix Felicis is not 'love' either. And that's another two points for shouting."

Cedric was ready to tackle Snape right then and there. Snape must have hated this particular class; he had his two least favorite houses, both together at once. It was obvious Snape hated the Gryffindors, and he certainly didn't favor the Huffelpuffs either.

At last Cedric found the nerve to look down at his paper and immediately saw why Snape was so displeased, and did not blame him for taking points away from Hufflepuff house:

_"Felix Felicis: liquid luck. Molten gold in color. Key ingredient: love. Invented by M.S.L. Effect: love. Makes drinker exceptionally lucky at Quidditch." _Down at the bottom was written Maddie's name in cursive, first and last. Cedric could feel himself bright red.

Later on in the period, Cedric received a note from one of his dorm mates, Joseph, who talked way too much and slept about four hours every night (which he chose to do). Joseph was extremely unpopular—even amongst Cedric's other dorm mates—though Cedric could not fathom why, as when a person got to know Joseph, he was extremely nice. Afraid to be caught passing notes in class, Cedric waited until Snape's back was turned to unfold the piece of parchment.

_"What was that about?"_

He picked up his quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote hurriedly, _"Accidentally handed Snape a note from a friend. No big deal."_

Quickly he received the reply: _"A friend? He called it a love note. Anyway, if it was just from a friend, why did Snape mention Maddie?"_Everyone in Cedric's dormitory knew about Cedric and Maddie's friendship, and would obviously know to whom Snape was referring to when he said "Miss Lewis". Cedric, afraid of being caught passing notes, scribbled, _"I'll explain later", _before returning to the lesson.

* * *

After Snape's class, Cedric was walking the halls before the Quidditch game and happened to run into Maddie, which wasn't exactly difficult to do. "Good luck at the Quidditch match," she said, smiling.

"Thanks," Cedric mumbled, before a thought came to mind. _Come on, Cedric, it's not that hard,_ he thought. She started walking away, but Cedric called, "Uh...Mad?" She turned. Cedric felt completely tongue tied.

"Yes?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Never mind," he said, loosing the courage he had moments before, "it's not important anymore." She looked puzzled but nodded and walked away, her hair bouncing over her shoulders. Cedric sighed as soon as she was out of earshot. He started mumbling to himself as well. "You've got to tell her sometime," he said, walking towards the Quidditch pitch. "It can't be that hard. I just don't want to ruin what we have now. She may not even fancy you back," he reasoned when he heard a voice behind him.

"Cedric?" the voice said. He turned; it was Joseph.

"Yeah?" Cedric said, starting to lose patience. At this rate he'd be late to his own pep talk before the Quidditch game.

"Who were you talking about?" Joseph asked. Cedric was about to answer 'no one' when he realized Joseph said about instead of to. Still, the next words out of his mouth were, "No one."

"You were talking about someone," Joseph said. He took a step towards Cedric, making the latter feel slightly uncomfortable. "You said that someone may not fancy you, and you were talking about a girl. Who is she?" he finished. Cedric looked around before starting to open his mouth, just to make sure no one could hear him, when Joseph blurted out, "Is this about the incident in Potions?" Cedric froze. All he could do was nod. "I knew it! You _do_ fancy her!" Joseph said.

"What?! No, I don't," Cedric said, worried. "No. She's just a friend..."

"Exactly," Joseph said proudly, probably because for once he was on top of the latest gossip. "You even said 'I just don't want to ruin what we have now'." Joseph smiled, waiting for Cedric to reply.

Finally, he sighed. "Alright, yes, I do." Joseph looked extremely proud of himself. "But don't tell _anyone_. I don't want anyone to know."

"Got it!" Joseph said. He turned and added, "Good luck!" before dashing off.

* * *

Cedric had practically forgotten how much he loved Quidditch when he stepped out onto the pitch that game in the blaring rain. It was extremely difficult to play with it pouring down on him and every other Qudditch player.

"Cedric!"

He turned to where the voice was coming from. The Hufflepuff Chaser, Heidi Macavoy, was warning him about the oncoming Bludger. He dove downward on his broom, barely avoiding the ball. Suddenly, he saw out of the corner of his eye Harry Potter, the Gryffindor Seeker, accelerating towards a streak of gold. _The Snitch._

Cedric too sped up on his broom and soon was well past Harry. He reached his hand out for the Snitch. His fingers grazed it when he heard a scream coming from behind him. He ignored it, grasping the Snitch...Hufflepuff had won. He heard several more screams, this time coming from both on and off the pitch. He looked over. Every face in the crowd was on the ground. Several people were in shock. Cedric, too looked. Harry was freefallling towards the ground.

Cedric dove to try to catch Harry, but not before Oliver Wood could, placing him—unconscious—on the ground. Cedric landed and ran over to Oliver. "Wood!" he said. "Oh my God, is he o—"

"Attacked by a Dementor," Oliver said before Cedric could finish. Quickly Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall ran to the pitch and carefully took Harry to the hospital wing. Oliver suddenly seemed to realize Cedric was there. "Well...congratulations, Diggory," he said.

It suddenly dawned on Cedric that he had _won._He had actually beaten Gryffindor in a Quidditch match. However, he felt extremely guilty. "Listen, Wood...let's replay the match," he suggested. "You..."

"Nah, you won," Oliver said, standing, as he had still been kneeling on the ground. "Good game, see you later."

"Wood!" Cedric called, starting to follow him. "Wood, you can't be serious, Potter fell off his broom..."

"And you caught the Snitch," Oliver said. "Automatic one hundred and fifty points, you won, good game, good bye." And with that Oliver was gone. Cedric stood dumbfounded for a moment. The entire school knew how much Oliver thirsted for a Gryffindor victory. _He's too damn proud to replay the match,_Cedric thought before leaving to change out of his Quidditch robes.

* * *

After dinner Cedric returned to the Hufflepuff common room. No way did Hufflepuff deserve that victory. _Harry Potter fell off his broom after a Dementor attack, for Merlin's sake! _he thought. Still, he entered the Hufflepuff common room. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed the room was totally empty, apart for one person sitting in a chair before the fire with an open book and a quill stuck behind her ear, a piece of parchment pressed into the book's binding.

He approached Maddie slowly, afraid what might happen. He stood over her, blocking her reading light. She looked up and smiled. "Hi, Cedric," she greeted warmly. "Good game. Too bad about Potter, though."

"Uh huh," he said. He cleared his throat. He paused before saying, "You know we didn't deserve to win."

"Wood's just too stubborn to replay the match," she said, returning to her book. He realized at once that she was writing an essay for Snape. She looked up after a moment. "Uh, excuse me, but I have to finish this essay for Snape, it's due next lesson..." He moved out of her reading light but something kept him rooted to the spot. She was unaware of his presence until he put his hand on top of hers to get her attention. She looked up.

"Can we talk?" he asked. Puzzled, she nodded, pulling her quill out behind her ear and starting to write with it, thinking it was just a typical conversation. However, as she put it down, Cedric shut the book. She looked up. "It's very important," he added.

"Alright..." she said, waiting.

He pulled up a chair alongside her. He was quiet for a moment before saying, "How do you feel about...me?"

Puzzled, she said, "I feel like you're a brother to me, why?"

"Because I..." He sighed. There was no avoiding it now. "Well, I used to see you as a younger sister, but...I don't really feel that way anymore."

"Oh?" she said, taking it obviously the wrong way.

"Ikingodavncyoo?" he said, too fast to comprehend and too incomprehensible to even consider speech.

"I'm sorry...I didn't catch that." she said, extremely confused at this point.

"What I mean to say is...I think I...I sort of...fancy you?"

"Oh..." she said, now clearly understanding. She immediately knew what Cedric was about to ask. She sighed. "Well, uh, Cedric, I...I really don't know what to say..." She was blushing heavily and biting her lip. "I mean, we've been friends for years, and...I just don't want to ruin that, and you're, well...you're sixteen, and I'm _twelve_..."

"I know," Cedric said, his heart sinking.

"Well, uh, can I have some time to...to think it over?" she said, obviously embarrassed.

"Oh," Cedric said. "Okay. Sure. Terrific." He stood and started to leave.

"Cedric!" she called. He turned. "I'm sorry?" she said, feeling extremely bad after her reaction to what he said.

He sighed, and walked back to her. Before he had time to stop himself or realize what he was doing, Cedric was passionately kissing Maddie. For the first few seconds of it, Maddie's eyes were wide, but then she shut them and got into it as well. Cedric finally pulled away. "Just think it over, okay?" he asked before walking away. Maddie resembled a fish, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly opened as she nodded.

Cedric walked away. _Oh, Merlin, I'm such an _idiot! he thought. _I can't believe I did that! God!_ Before he realized it, he was in his dormitory with Joseph. Everyone else was gone. Joseph seemed to be waiting for Cedric's arrival. "What just happened down there?" he asked. "I could hear..."

"I kissed Maddie!" Cedric said. Joseph's face was priceless but Cedric seemed very shocked about it himself.

"You what?" Joseph asked in disbelief. "Tell me what happened."

"Well I walked into the common room and she was there and she said 'good match' and I was thinking about how beautiful her eyes looked in the light of the fire because you know I love green eyes..." At this point Joseph was thinking, _Actually, no, I don't know...._ "And I ended up blurting out that I fancied her and then she said she was sorry and everything and I told her to think about it and we ended up kissing!"

"So are you, like...an item now, or something?"

"Not now," Cedric said, while secretly thinking that for someone with hardly any friends, Joseph sure did know a lot about teen slang, even using the term 'like' improperly. "I wish," Cedric added longingly.

* * *

The next few days Maddie and Cedric avoided each other as much as possible, and when they had no choice but to be together, they never mentioned the kiss. Finally, on the third day, Cedric was in the Great Hall, not able to concentrate on anything, when he noticed out of the corner of his eye Maddie stand up to exit. He hoped she wouldn't stop by him to talk. After avoiding him for so long, he felt his heart breaking. She didn't slow when she walked by, but he noticed a note next to him on the bench.

He picked it up and looked over, ready to tell her that she had dropped something, but she was gone. Thinking it was homework or her essay for Snape, he unfolded the parchment. However, it was just a small paper, and on it was written a single word:

_Yes._

* * *

**i really liked that chap.(: i thought it was soo cute! :D lol okay anyway today i was on the harry potter wikia and i looked up hogwarts and it was soo funny because i got the houses section and each house got this paragraph as a description except hufflepuff which got one sentence which was "Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders!". i started busting up laughing lol. PLEASE don't change it, i want to see how long it stays lmfao.**

**please review. if you don't feel like reviewing tell me who your favorite "finder" is. XD**


	4. Chapter 3 Quidditch and Birthdays

**Here ya are. I'm sorry I ditched you. I've been busy working out the REST of this story to focus on this part, haha.(: This takes place right before and the day after after the Quidditch World Cup.**

* * *

If there was one thing Cedric Diggory loved, it was Quidditch. He was very surprised—in a good way, naturally—when his father came home from work at the Ministry of Magic and presented him with two tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. Immediately he went to see his girlfriend, Maddie Lewis, by the tree near their two houses. Maddie at this point was almost thirteen years old and hadn't changed much from their previous year at Hogwarts. She had grown slightly taller and was not nearly so dwarfed when standing next to Cedric's height of six foot one.

"Mad, Dad got..." he started in a hushed tone.

"I know," she said back. "My dad did, too."

"The World Cup?"

"Yes."

"On the twenty-second?"

"Says it's an early birthday present for me," she said as Cedric reached up and put a hand on her face. Maddie's birthday was approaching quickly, it was on the twenty-third. The day in question, it was the fifteenth and Maddie's best friend Ginny's birthday had just passed. As if on cue, Ginny came down and interrupted the two.

"Sorry to bother you," she said. Cedric, however, had grown quite accustomed to someone interrupting them. Just a few weeks prior, the two barely avoided being caught by Cedric's father, Amos, who didn't _exactly_know about his son's relationship. They—or, more correctly, Cedric—still was worried of being caught by one of Cedric's parents, as they knew nothing of the two. "Dad just said he got tickets for us to go the Quidditch World Cup, said you two were going."

"We are," Cedric said. His hand fell from Maddie's face fast. Even though Ginny was one of about eight people who knew about Cedric and Maddie's relationship, he still felt the need to keep it secret. "Not together, obviously, but yes." He glanced at Maddie and looked up at Ginny again. "Heard we're all going to be together."

"Well, that's what Dad said," Ginny said to Cedric. She, too, glanced at her best friend. "Wish Luna was going, but she'll be out of town." Luna Lovegood was one of the four girls in the group Ginny and Maddie were prominently seen with, along with Maddie's fellow Hufflepuff Amber Wrights.

Maddie slipped her hand into Cedric's waiting one. The three of them talked some more, when finally said Cedric said, "I've got to get home. See you," he added, giving Maddie a kiss good-bye before leaving.

"So," Ginny said, as soon as Cedric was out of earshot. "He _still_ hasn't said it yet, I take it?"

"Said what, exactly?" Maddie asked.

"Oh, I don't know...'I love you'?" Ginny rolled her eyes. "Maddie, it's been about nine months, give or take, and he _still_ hasn't told you he loves you?"

"He's taking it slow," Maddie said, a little nervous.

"_Very _slow, apparently," Ginny muttered. She sighed, shaking her head. "Well, Mum says hello. G'bye."

* * *

A long series of events had led to another, and almost everyone at the Quidditch World Cup fled as fast as possible, other than Ministry officials, as Death Eaters had invaded the affair.

The next day, August twenty-third, was Maddie's birthday and Cedric hadn't seen her since moments after the Tournament when the two walked around, hand in hand, just talking. He wasn't sure if she was okay; she had been with her Muggle-born mother, and Cedric had heard rumors that Death Eaters would attack any person associated with a Muggle.

He knocked on the door of the Lewis household and moments later Maddie opened the door and smiled. "Hi," she said.

"Hi, Mad," he said quietly, looking at her big green eyes. "How are you? Haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh, yes, it feels like ages," Maddie said sarcastically, laughing. "Not to be rude, but will this take long? I'm kind of..."

"Oh, no, not at all," Cedric interrupted. He looked at her for a second more before saying, "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," she said, smiling up at him. She was a foot shorter than him and it got awkward more often than not.

"I have something for you," he said.

"Cedric, I really don't need anything..." The words had barely left her mouth when Cedric pulled a ring out of his pocket. She looked at him in awe. "Oh, Cedric..."

"Ssh," he said, quieting her. "Happy birthday." He took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her ring finger. It glittered in the hot August sun. It was just a small silver band with the word _love _inscribed on it. "Cedric, this must have cost a fortune..." she started.

Cedric shrugged. "I guess," he said. "You mean more to me than money, though." She waited for him to say it ('I love you') but he said nothing. "You, uh...you look really nice today," he said awkwardly.

"Thank you," she said. She hadn't done much for her appearance. She just ran a brush through her hair and threw on some old dress in the back of her closet. It was pale blue and came down to about her knees.

Maddie's mother, Katie Alice-Lewis, walked by. "Maddie, not long, dear," she said, but realized who it was and said, "Oh! Hello, Cedric." She smiled warmly at him. "Would you like to come in? It's too hot out here...."

"Oh, no, thank you, I'm just stopping by," he said. Katie nodded and disappeared somewhere inside the house. "Maddie," Cedric said. She turned her attention back to him. "Since you're old enough now, first Hogsmeade trip of the year? You. Me. Be there."

Maddie smiled. "Alright."

"Well, see you later," Cedric said, looking down at her again.

"See you later," she said back as Cedric bent down to kiss her again. "Bye," she said, shutting the door behind her as she went back in the house. Cedric started walking home when he heard catcalls behind him.

"Oi! Nice girlfriend, Diggory," said Fred Weasley.

"Yeah, how old is she now, eight?" said George Weasley.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cedric said, still walking forward.

"Oh, please," Fred said.

"You didn't think you could hide it forever," George said.

"Did you?" the twins asked together.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cedric repeated. He was now rooted to the spot.

"Are you not currently dating Maddie Lewis?" George asked.

"It's none of your business," Cedric said.

"Did you not just kiss her just a minute ago?" Fred asked.

Cedric rolled his eyes. "So what if I did?"

"Oh, I don't know...maybe I may just have the urge to...tell your father?" George suggested evilly, and he and his twin smiled.

"Don't," Cedric heard himself say. The twins smiled wider. "Okay, yes, I _am _seeing her. But you can't tell anyone, alright? I don't exactly want it getting out..."

"Ashamed of her, are you, Diggory?" Fred asked.

Cedric didn't answer. Instead he walked the rest of the way home and again counted down the days until he finally got to go back to Hogwarts with his friends (and girlfriend), and maybe learn a bit more about this "eternal glory" his father was talking about.

* * *

**Lmaoooo, this chap sucks. It's currently *looks* 1:24 A.M. and I am soo exhausted, but wanted to put a chapter up, because I've been thinking about this couple all day...yesterday? Lmaoooo. This chap was mainly dialogue because it's soo much easier to write. That's also why it was so short. It was also *very* obvious at the end that I was referring to the Triwizard Tournament a little while ago, lol! If anyone can guess what the Tournament will do to our favorite couple later in the story gets................................NOTHING! (Haha, how tempting! :P)**

**Please review. If you don't feel like reviewing, tell me why tacos were designed to be explosives.**


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